Twitter Turns Laughingstock in a Tough Week for Tech

The Dow ended a slow week with a bang, rallying nearly 200 points on Friday to close the week just over 18k. Earnings were mixed all week, which resulted in a flat market 4 days out of 5. The NASDAQ took the worst of the damage, mostly because tech stocks failed to deliver the promised earnings, even when the companies made money. The NASDAQ is down from over 5,100 to 5,005.39. The S&P 500 got hit for just over -10 points this week, and closed on Friday at 2,108.29.

In overseas trading this week, it was more ups and downs for the Hong Kong's Hang Seng. The index has had a relatively steady month after April's climb of 3,000 points.

Japan's Nikkei had a down week, after the exchange dropped -540 points on Thursday and failed to recover.

Twitter's Leaked Earnings Make It This Week's Big Loser. Twitter (TWTR) is the big loser this week after getting its missed earnings report leaked to the public days before the presentation. It was an embarrassing "accident that has analysts on Wall street laughing, but it was serious for the company. Twitter's share prices tumbled down 25% this week, near 3-year lows. Twitter continued to lose even during Friday's rally, closing the week down more than 10 points to $37.84.

Tough Week For Tech. It wasn't just Twitter (TWTR) that took its lumps this week. Growth has been down in the tech sector as a whole, but it was especially bad over the past 5 days. Google (GOOG) is down 4.55% and it was the same story with Amazon (AMZN), which slid by 5%. Even Apple (AAPL) closed the week down, despite a rally with the rest of the market on Friday. The sector has had disappointing earnings in this first quarter, but an improvement in consumer spending this summer could make for an impressive year.

Freeport-McMoRan Gets Upgrade Nod From Morgan Stanley. Freeport-McMoRan (FMX) has had the sort of week that makes you feel optimistic for the industrial economy. They were upgraded to buy by Morgan Stanley (MS) on the 28th and they haven't stopped climbing sense. Freeport has gained 13.64% on the week, closing up more than 2 points to $23.66 per share.

This Week's 5 Hottest Penny Stocks. Friday was really the biggest day this week for penny stock growth, and there were some huge gains made. A positive earnings report counts for a lot when you're a small-cap, and companies like Intercloud Systems (ICLD) gained as much as 70% on Friday alone. Intercloud opened this week below $1.70 and closed at $2.67. Natuzzi S.P.A (NTZ) has been creeping up for week, and finally just broke through today for 30% gains.

Better Online Solutions (BOSC) shot up over 1 point to $3.05 on earnings this week. The online communications company is struggling its way back up to highs of over $4. Civeo Corp. (CVEO) is up over 30% on the week, climbing from $3.60 to $4.50. AEHR Test Systems (AEHR), an electronics firm and our final hot penny stock, added 25% in trading this week. The company moved from $2.30 to $2.60 over 5 days.

Buffet Quotes Litter Internet, But Which Sites Deliver Insight? It seems like every site on the internet has an article quoting Warren Buffett, but do any of them have anything to add. I looked through a handful of sites this week, and only one stood out. BusinessDictionary.com has a great piece up on Buffett, where CEO Thomas Murcko shares how the Oracle's wisdom has influenced his approach to business.

Down Days Aren't All Bad For Bonds. Bond yields are up on the week, which was a stressful one for the market. The yield on a 10-year Treasury note rose from 1.96% to 2.12% on Friday, a sign that investors see instability in other parts of the economy.